I am always surprised to go into a bar in Boston and three televisions are playing different channels, all at once. We are constantly surprised by this noise and television. It means that's what we are going to get, because we always get everything eventually.

I think one should express opinions and these books are relatively opinionated. They would be a bit dry without it.

In both places [Paraguay and Newfoundland] people rise despite everything - both are pretty tough environments.

Lawrence Millman is a favorite writer of mine. He did a travels on the trail of the Vikings.

I was writing the Paraguay book, a Paragauyan told me that only five thousand people in Paraguay read.

I realize how much [Mark] Twain fabricated things. I like it very much, but it's only half true. And it shows what he was trying to do, which was just entertain. Which he does very successfully, though the humor is almost dated now.

Benedict Allen gives you the impression that he hasn't done any research at all, and I am sure he has. And when he is off doing his ice dogs and that sort of thing - and therefore its not only an exploration of the place but also his imagination in a sense. It's very successful as technique.